State says dead dog was no wolf

MassWildlife officials say a Northborough dog that was killed with a baseball bat after attacking its owner's family Friday was misrepresented as a wolf-dog hybrid.

By Lindsey Parietti, Daily News staff

MassWildlife officials say a Northborough dog that was killed with a baseball bat after attacking its owner's family Friday was misrepresented as a wolf-dog hybrid.

Since 1994 it has been illegal to own or claim to own a wolf-dog hybrid in Massachusetts.

"The dog had no (hybrid) permit, nor did we consider it to be a wolf or a wolf-dog, but it was clearly a rangy and not well-mannered dog," said Tom French, assistant director of MassWildlife. French determined that the malamute mix was not a hybrid when environmental police responded to a complaint a few years ago.

The dog, Taz, was killed by owner Steve Stone's brother, Michael, and nephew, Buddy, who were watching the dog while Stone is away in Russia.

Members of the family told the MetroWest Daily News over the weekend that the animal was 90 percent wolf and 10 percent Alaskan malamute. They could not be reached by phone yesterday for comment.

"For a lot of people, it's just bragging rights," French said, estimating that at least three-quarters of the animals examined by MassWildlife officials do not meet hybrid qualifications. "It's got to look like a wolf. We've seen enough of the real McCoy to know."

The incident took place on the family's 12-acre Bartlett Street estate after the dog broke free of its cable and growled and threatened Buddy Stone, who was carrying a baseball bat. Stone tried to scare the animal away by hitting him on the leg, which didn't faze Taz, Buddy Stone said.

During the encounter, Euclid Stone, 81, Steve Stone's father, was summoned. He used to play with Taz as a puppy, but the dog threatened the elder man.

When the animal turned on Buddy, Michael grabbed him from behind and tried to subdue the dog, losing the tip of his right pinky finger in the process. Michael, who also had puncture wounds on his arm, told Buddy to deliver the fatal blows with the bat.

French said the 1994 state law is designed to prevent breeders from marketing their dogs as wolves.

"When you attach wolf to the name, it has more value," he said. "What sounds better, a Dakota wolf-dog or a malamute mix? It takes the dog from $1,000 down to $30 or $40."

MassWildlife can fine breeders and owners who misrepresent their dogs, but French said that most owners change their ways after a warning.

Wolf-dog hybrids can be owned for educational or research purposes, but there are only two existing permits, one in Boylston and the other in the southeastern part of the state, French said.

Pet owners who had owned wolf hybrids before 1994 were given grandfathered permits, but French believes most or all of the original 300 animals are dead, given the passing of the years.

"We don't really care about them unless they get in trouble," said French who admitted that a few hybrid dogs could still be out there since most owners did not report their dog's death. "Early in the game, around 1995 or 1996, we destroyed three of the hybrids because of attacks. Two of those had permits through us, but part of the restriction was that they had to be under the owner's control at all times."

French said that each hybrid animal may exhibit different traits, but most weigh 90 to 110 pounds, have rounded furry ears, bushy tails, a large ruff of fur around the neck and shoulders, large feet, and long legs in proportion to their bodies. Unlike domestic dogs they are shy, often pace when confined, and view people with their heads down, eyes looking up.

Joni Soffron, director of Wolf Hollow, a nonprofit organization in Ipswich that houses wolves for public viewing, said that incidents like the one that occurred in Northborough result from owners who do not know how to care for their dogs, hybrid or not.

"People who own hybrids either have a high level of respect for the wolf and they think a wolf would be cool to have, or it is just pure ego," said Soffron, who worries that irresponsible owners give wolves a bad image. "Those who get them learn that they are not good pets. You've mixed a predatory animal with a domestic dog that has no fear of humans, and it's a potential time bomb."

According to Soffron, who helped draft the 1994 law, 90 percent of pet hybrids are euthanized before they are 3 years old.

"The sad part is the animal pays the price," she said.

(Lindsey Parietti can be reached at 508-626-4407 or lpariett@cnc.com.)

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